Matchmaker
by Kurogane7
Summary: AU: Yuffie Kisaragi side jobs as a matchmaker for a price...what will happen when she falls for the target of her latest client? Rated T for now...please read and review, would you kindly?
1. New Client

_**A/N: Inspired by the Will Smith movie "Hitch" and the song "Stupid Cupid"…read and review would you kindly?

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Yuffie spied from her binoculars behind a window across from the motel directly across from the apartment, two people enjoying a romantic dinner. Her clients were not only paying her to play cupid, but they were also paying her to keep mum that they had assistance. This particular client happened to get lucky and get a discount for being a best friend…and there are few people that lucky to get that discount. Her business as cupid actually cost her clientele quite a bit, although she does have a real job, the bits and pieces that really did make her day were the fees she charged for a successful relationship.

Aeris and Zack were sitting across from each other at the dinner table…the manager of this establishment owed Yuffie a favor, and allowed her to keep that room for as long as her project was on in exchange for spying privileges, and so it was no surprise that Elmyra Gainsborough-Wallace walked on into the room silently. "How's everything going dear?" she asked, "Did I miss anything?"

"Oh no, they just stepped into the dining room…they're having dinner now. It's candlelit, and he's serving roast beef."

"Oh, that should be good…what bottle is that?"

"It looks to me like a 1950 Chateau Pierre Mideelean Cognac…very expensive bottle, and a very fine wine…I believe his dad gave it to him before he passed on. If I remember correctly, he said that his dad told him to 'save it for a special occasion.' I suppose this is the 'special occasion', as I've not seen him take a swig from that bottle before I set them up. Wait a minute, she's asking about the bottle—looks like he's telling her about it…and we have toasting!"

Yuffie and Elmyra smiled at each other briefly before turning their attentions towards the couple having dinner. "You think you can keep an eye on Zack for me? Give me updates?"

"You know it…I still owe you for me and Barrett. Marlene has been such a doll—she made my life even better. I really enjoy taking her to those piano lessons…and I saw that the teacher is quite a looker; it was cute hearing her promising to marry him one day."

"Marlene's taking piano lessons? How long ago?"

"Oh way before I met Barrett—I believe she started at age four. His job as the foreman of that mine is more than enough to pay for her classes. It took two years for her to play that nicely. I look forward to her recitals and having to take her there…I could just listen to her play all day long."

"Well what's her teacher like?"

"Long black hair, rather tall (just a little shorter than Barrett mind you), and slender—I swear, the first time I met him, I thought he was a cross-dressing woman…I know him because once or twice I go to him for a massage. He was nice, and very professional, but he always seemed a bit lonely to me because I rarely ever see him leave that building, not to mention that he had some sort of melancholic air about him as if he had just suffered a loss."

"And you're setting up an appointment with this client when?"

"I've already told my friend that you will only see clients on weekends, so she'll be seeing you next Saturday."

"An appointment for Saturday it is then…could you please tell her to meet me at the Seventh Heaven?"

"Will do."

With that, Yuffie left the motel room. She had work tomorrow, and she'll be damned if she got fired on the spot…

* * *

Friday…

Donald Corneo was not a very pleasant man—rather chubby, greasy hair, all sorts of things that would repel a woman. And yet he had lots of money, and was Yuffie's boss—oh how she hated him, and the way that he got away with sexual harassment. For some reason, she and Elena were the two women that he had especially set his sights on, and it did not bother him that Elena was dating her cousin Tseng, or that Yuffie was not interested in a relationship at the moment. Yeah, Corneo was the type to picture women as objects—her father be damned, if he so much as touched her inappropriately again, he would make sure it was the last time he ever did such a thing even if he had been loyal to the president since the day he started this company.

Kisaragi Imports dealt with all sorts of merchandise including rare oddities such as authentic hand-made Wutainese bronze ware, but mostly they import all sorts of things that all offices need, store it, and then sell it to everyone. Yuffie and Elena were each hired to handle phone calls and to make sure that a good understanding between the customer and the delivery people was maintained…Elena wanted to be hired because she was paying for college. Yuffie on the other hand had nothing to do at the moment, so she figured she may as well help her dad out with the company like she always did on her summer breaks. The company was based in Little Wutai near the docks so that imports may be transported to the warehouse better…a good distance away from Elmyra in case she had relationship problems.

Godo Kisaragi started the Kisaragi Imports Company after he and his wife had moved on over to Midgar at the break of the Wutainese Civil War that ended almost twelve years ago—when Yuffie was ten. Afterwards, upon making landfall to Midgar, they started looking for jobs—down and out of luck, the two of them managed to start working separate jobs until they scrounged up enough money to start a company. At first, it was just one ship going from Wutai to Nibelheim, financing the cause of the South to win, and then it grew to three ships going to Wutai, Mideel, and Corel. Now, business was steady—there was not much to worry about in this day when it came to money, but Yuffie could remember the nights when she and her mother, Leviathan rest her soul, were hungry at the time the war raged on because they were poor.

She then focused on the computer screen before her. As she was typing in records, she received a phone call. "Kisaragi Imports, this is Yuffie Speaking, how may I help you?"

The male voice at the other end of the phone was smooth and baritone—she was sure she would have melted there on the spot. "Yes, I was looking in your catalogue and I saw an ad saying that you did special orders. Is this true?"

"Yes sir, if you have an order with certain specifications, we may be able to help you, although our tech department may be of better use to you if it's a computer you're looking for."

"Thank-you, I'm trying to look for a computer that is reasonable in cost, but at the same time, I get a rather good power output and hard drive at the very least…see, I run a clinic of sorts, and I want to record my patients' data in a more convenient way that does not involve writing in a book. Perhaps you can help me?"

"I think I can help you there…we just got a new shipment of Galian Beast Inc.'s Cerberus X666 laptops—it's a new model and it's the first time that it's been released ever. It's got a 3 GB hard drive, a 260 GB processor, and is 6000 Gil…and since you're running a clinic, we'll reduce the price in half. Lucky you, especially since you're the first person who will be purchasing one. If it does not satisfy you, then you can return it by the end of the month."

"Thank-you so much. My credit card number is 0789-0990-6969-4356 and the address is 117 Hikaru St. in Little Wutai."

With that, the client hung up the phone, and then Yuffie pressed a button on the base of her phone marked 'Cid' after keying in the credit card number. "Cid, do you have any trucks in the garage?"

"Fuck girl! Don't fucking do that! No, I don't have any trucks at the time…they're all out making deliveries. What's up?"

"I just recommended a Cerberus X666 to a new customer, and I was hoping that I caught someone before they left."

"Nah, Cloud's still out with Fenrir—that fucker really does love that bike, and his deliveries are so quick too! And I hear that Tifa's making him even happier…it's so surprising after what happened with Scarlet, and Reeve's doing well with Shalua."

"How are things with Shera by the way?"

"Don't tell her I fucking said this, but I fucking owe you—big, fucking, time!"

"You're welcome. So, you have anything I can use to deliver this package? The doctor who ordered this lives on 117 Hikaru St."

"That's a little ways away from here. Like about eight or ten-minutes away. Come on down here, and I'll have a map ready for you by then." With that, Yuffie found an excuse to leave the office—she got up, and walked on down to the warehouse to pick up the package, meeting Cid there with the directions…she got on her motorcycle, and started driving away. It took seven minutes for her to arrive at Hikaru St. before she started looking for her destination…111, 113, 115…aha! There it is! 117! As she looked at the building she had parked her bike at, she saw that there was a delivery truck on the doorstep, with men walking up and down the stairs of the aged mansion carrying various crates and boxes filled with various things. This was a clinic?

Yuffie took the package and a clipboard out from the satchel at the left side of the bike, and walked up the stairs into the mansion after she removed her helmet and goggles and put them under her arm. Like some buildings in Little Wutai, this one was like the traditional Wutainese mansion with a balcony out front…the red-lacquered double doors that led into the mansion had nine round, brass studs upon their faces arranged in a square pattern, a symbol of good luck. She continued to walk in and see that the courtyard was like walking into a park or a temple—to the left, she saw a sand garden with several large rocks within it, to her right, she saw a black pine tree growing in the middle of a grass patch, and as she walked further in, she found herself looking at a koi pond…it's odd, this place was nearby work and her home, how come she never noticed this building? On top of that, this place also reminded her of a dojo.

"May I help you?"

She jumped upon hearing the voice right behind her and almost dropping the things in her arms, and she turned around to find herself looking up at a pair of beautiful red eyes. This man was tall, and his hair was a curtain of raven-colored silk that was tied back in a ponytail that went down to his waist…he was slender, but not so thin as to be gaunt. Were it not for the fact that he was wearing a white dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up past his elbows, black trousers and suspenders, and brown leather slip-on shoes she would have mistaken him for a cross-dressing woman (where did she hear of that before?) instantly…not to mention that she saw his muscles rippling subtly under that shirt of his. Yuffie was awestruck at seeing him, and she was having trouble saying anything…until she found the courage to speak up. "U-um, hi, my name is Yuffie, we spoke on the phone earlier?"

"Oh yes, hello. What may I ask are you doing here?"

"Um, I was going to have someone else deliver your package to you, but it wound up that nobody else was available, so I decided to, like, come on over and deliver the package myself."

"That's very kind of you."

With that, Yuffie handed the man his package and picked up the clipboard. "So, if you would be so kind as to sign here…" The man took the clipboard, and looked it over before signing his receipt. "So what sort of practice do you run?"

"Oh, I perform Traditional Wutainese Medicine."

"Really? Like with acupuncture?"

"And massage and moxybustion."

"How come I've never noticed this place until now?"

"Well, I recently inherited this place from my uncle, Leviathan rest his soul, shortly after the war…I hear it's been here since the first Wutainese settlers decided to come here to Nibelheim. He told me that I could come here if I ever got my license and diploma."

"Are you Wutainese?"

"By my mother."

"What about your father?"

"He was a doctor from Mideel who came to study Wutainese medicine."

"Oh."

"Perhaps you would like to stay for a while? I've just boiled up a pot of oolong not too long ago."

"Oh no thanks, but I appreciate the offer. I've got to get back to work."

"Time is money then. I hope to see you again one day—hopefully it will be on your free time and while you are not a patient."

Yuffie bowed politely before the doctor, and walked towards her bike…she swore that she would have wet herself silly if she stayed any longer. With that, she slipped the helmet and goggles on, and sped away back to work…

* * *

Saturday…

The Seventh Heaven Bar was a very popular bar that had recently opened up in the border between Little Wutai and downtown…actually, in the border did the location no justice as the bar was smack-dab in the middle of the two areas; to the eastern end is Little Wutai, and to the west is Downtown Nibelheim. The owner of the bar owed Yuffie a favor for playing cupid, and so she got cheaper drinks than any other patron. Yuffie sat around waiting for her client to arrive, and it was a good thing that Elmyra knew to send the client to the correct table.

As she waited, Yuffie had ordered a glass of the strawberry daiquiri with a lime slice. She always comes here at night on the weekends to meet with potential clients. This particular client she saw was a woman somewhere in her late twenties to mid-thirties…a very pretty woman with hazel-colored hair and eyes with her long hair tied up with a yellow ribbon wearing a purple sweater and a black skirt. "Elmyra's a sweetie isn't she?" she asked, "I should know," said the woman, "when she told me that you could help me with my problem, I didn't believe her at first until I saw who she was paired up with."

"So how did you meet Elmyra anyway?"

"Actually, Elmyra was my teacher while I was in university—we got along quite well in and out of the classroom."

The look of interest in Yuffie's face had flashed before the stranger's eyes. "Oh did you now? You studied under her for her philosophy or her art class?"

"I was in her philosophy class…I got an A."

"Really? I studied for art."

"Do you have a portfolio I could look at?"

"Maybe some other time, but perhaps we could get to the business at hand?"

"Yes, well my name is Lucrecia; Lucrecia Crescent. And I was hoping that you could give me pointers on how to get one particular man?"

"Is this going to be a long-term or short-term thing?"

"I'm planning on it being a long-term relationship, especially since I've been looking for him for quite a while now."

"How long?"

"Well, I'd say for five or seven years now—I highly doubt he'd know me, but then again it's my fault for not speaking up while we were still in college."

"Wow…that's a long time to be searching. You have a photo of him?"

As she spoke, Lucrecia reached into her purse. "Yes, in fact, I bring it with me wherever I go."She then found what it was that she was looking for, and handed it to Yuffie. As soon as she saw the picture, her eyes had widened to the size of saucers.

Lucrecia looked concerned. "Is everything all right?"

Yuffie could not say anything, because she had just met this man yesterday!

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_**Music Played:**_

"_**Kansha" by RSP—Aeris and Zack's date

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**_

_**Vocabulary:**_

_**Moxybustion—using burning mugwort to poke at your acupuncture points, aids in relaxation.**_


	2. Doctors

_**A/N: I never got a lot of reviews for either "Blind Love" or "The Guide" as of late…however, I decided that I was going to add another chapter to this particular story after so long. But perhaps I am hoping for too much when expecting reviews…even though I ask politely. So do read and review would you kindly? I really want to learn how to improve on my stories, and your reviews will help me in that many oh-so-much.**_

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Sunday…two weeks later…

It was in the afternoon, and Yuffie was waiting in the abandoned apartment about two blocks across from 117 Hikaru St. for her partner in crime to show up so she could requisition the dossier she needed from him by showing him the identity of her client's target. This particular target was the very man she saw just a few days ago, and the client was asking for quite a bit of help in bagging the good doctor. Although she could not blame her—what was there not to like about him? Sweet, a bit reserved, sincere…not a single flaw on his body, red eyes that both scared and mesmerized potential dates; yep, he's got it all…she could only wonder as to how he would've been on a date with…

She slapped herself out of her smutty thoughts…Yuffie was dealing with a client! A client for Leviathan's sake! She shouldn't be crushing on the mark! And besides, she remembered why she started this little matchmaking service in the first place! There was no way this was going to be another Reno—in fact, that's why she avoided starting any relationships in the first place! "How are you holding up?"

Yuffie turned and found herself looking up at her cousin. Tseng was well-known in the family for wearing a tilaka on his forehead, and for deviating from normal customs by even dating a foreign girl…a foreign girl she had the pleasure of befriending, and playing cupid for at the desperate behest of said cousin due to Tseng's shyness. "I'm holding up well, you?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but Elena has me doing stuff that would be considered slave-driver work. But all in all, I'm happy with her. So, you said you needed my help with someone?"

"For a client; she's looking for a particular man for up to seven years."

Tseng whistled at that. "Who's the lucky or unlucky man?"

"I'm showing him to you in a bit…in fact, judging by my observations for the past weekend, he should be showing up right about…now!" It was at this point that Yuffie handed her cousin the extra pair of binoculars and directing his gaze to the man in the window. Upon seeing the man she was referring to sitting down at a table, a bit of recognition flashed in Tseng's eyes…and a bit of smile crept up on his lips.

"Oh, I'll be in for a long haul after all…"

"What is it?"

"I remember that man…during the Civil War he was a big-shot special operations trooper. I first met him on that mission in Wangzhou while I was under the command of Colonel Hiroyuki…best damn soldier I ever ran into—apparently, he served under Captain Saika's 239th Rangers Battalion. Surprisingly, he was only a cagey teenager at that time, and he proved to be really good at what he did—he was also, from my viewpoint, probably the best shot in the Civil War after Captain Saika Magoichi himself. After the Civil War, nobody's heard from him since. I'm actually surprised that he'd wind up as a doctor…normally the special operations soldiers opt to stay in the army; some I heard even became members of the imperial guard. Why that is not the case with this particular person, I've yet to figure out."

"Do you at least have a name I can work with?"

"I believe his name was Vincent Valentine. It actually makes sense that it's his name—he looked biracial to me, as I actually see the Southerner in his blood."

"Do you think you can get me a dossier on him?"

"Oh, I can try…that is, if you'd like to risk being the one to explain to your father during the next family reunion why we're one cousin short!"

"The dossier is that top-secret?"

"Yeah…all spec ops, black ops, and even covert ops soldiers have their files black-tagged as top-secret, with spec ops soldiers having relatively the lightest amount of secrecy in their files. Black ops and covert ops guys tend to have heavily and moderately redacted files respectively. If I try to go in to get that file for you, you'd better be ready with that explanation…just because the spec ops files are most lightly-protected dossiers in Wutai does not mean that I can take it lightly."

"So there's no way I can get anything else to make my job easier?"

"No, but I tell you a bit of a rumor I heard about him…according to several people, he comes from a family of doctors…"

"He told me that his parents were doctors, but that was about it. And that was when I first met him."

"Well rumor has it that both of those doctors are rather famous…they are Grimoire Valentine and Li Xiaoyin whom we both know as Hongfeng Gongzhu."

Yuffie's eyes had widened upon hearing that. "You have got to be shitting me!" She knew that Vincent said that his parents were doctors with his father being a Mideelean doctor and his mother being a specialist in Traditional Wutainese Medicine, but this was on a whole different level past what he had said! Doctor Grimoire Valentine was a rather well-known surgeon and general practitioner of medicine for not only being the best surgical genius in the world, but also for his habit of travelling the world to meet his patients. He was also well-known for charging his patients ridiculously large amounts of money for each operation, but with that payment came a huge chance of success in the case of diseases and injuries that seem impossible to treat or cure—a fact that spoke volumes about his skills that put all other doctors in his field to shame that an overly-skilled doctor without a license was making more money than any of them. In addition to that, the man was also known well in the scientific community…his studies in the area of human physiology and anatomy from his operations were the talk of the world, with many people aspiring to be scientists as great as him if not greater.

While she knew that Grimoire Valentine made a name for himself as an extremely skilled back-alley doctor and an equally brilliant scientist, Yuffie knew that Vincent's mother was well-known in her own right—however, there was nobody under the heavens in the island of Wutai that did not hear of the beauty that was Hongfeng Gongzhu. Her title was due to the fact that her treatments were rumored to have been able to save people that have recently died…as if phoenixes obeyed her joyously resurrecting people left and right on her command. She also headed the militia group the 12 Falcons of Chishan…nobody would dare start a crime in the port city of Chishan with the 12 Falcons watching, however it was also known in whispers that one should never mess with Hongfeng herself. With her outer beauty matching that of her inner-beauty, one would not expect that the very much graceful curves of her body that would have earned her the title of goddess of love and beauty with arrogant ease also hid a power that would put the almighty Susanoo to shame. It was rumored that due to the fact that her martial arts skills were at the level of a grandmaster at age 28, Hongfeng was given an offer to join the Southern Wutainese Imperial Guard, which she refused, humbly stating that she was a doctor and not a soldier and that her martial arts skills were learned so that she could defend her patients. To think that she would have a son with a disreputable man like Grimoire Valentine was a very big surprise…and the 12 Falcons were tight-lipped about the issue for some reason, even after the death of their master.

"It was inconclusive that it was the case, but who knows? Maybe they _**are**_ in fact his parents…or perhaps it was only a rumor after all."

"Interesting…"

"Look, I'll see if I can get anything else on him to make your job easier…dossiers, files, anything I can find even if it is more rumors. Until then, you're working in the dark …so do us both a favor and be careful—I know from experience that those spec ops guys are already capable of tearing us regular army men apart quite easily, and I don't want to be the one to tell Uncle Godo that you died because were messing with a spec ops man."

This was not good. Normally, Yuffie had a dossier or a file at the very least to study her targets courtesy of Tseng and his private detective work. The arrangement was simple; whenever she got hired for another cupid job, Yuffie enlisted Tseng to aid her in getting more information in exchange for a quarter of her profits (he would have asked for more, but Yuffie threatened that he'd risk being broken up with Elena if he did)…the more information she got, the easier it was to get the job done. However, if she was working in the dark, then that would mean she'd have to get information the hard way; by getting it from the source. It was easy to get the information she needed from said source if she was working on the personal level—what was difficult however, was getting the information without getting attached. "Okay, okay! I'll be extra careful on this job. The sooner this is done, the sooner I can leave him in the hands of Ms. Right."

"I'll see you later then." With that, Tseng left his cousin to her own devices. It was there that Yuffie began making plans as to how to get Vincent to open up more.

* * *

Later that night…

9980 Gilgamesh Rd. was the site of "Enrique's Del Solian Bar and Grill"…a small but well-known restaurant in these parts due to the fact that the founder and head chef Enrique Trujillo was a reputable wine-tasting judge, and was well-versed in the art of cooking Del Solian-style delights such as 'Vanilla-spiced roast beef with a side of green beans and rice pilaf', 'Baked chicken breast with jalapeño sauce', and even the simple but no less delectable 'Tacos del pescados con arroz'. In addition to the customer-attracting wine selection of such choices as St. Schneider's Monastery 2010 Riesling and Chateau Dubois 2006 Merlot, it was also far from 117 Hikaru St. and from prying eyes.

Within a shadowy corner, two figures sat at a table. One of the shadows was older and smelled of jasmine and lavender, while the other appeared to be significantly younger (perhaps around in her late twenties) with a different scent. Both shadows were effeminate. "How are things going with you?" asked the younger shadow, concern lacing her features.

"We're doing well. It's been so long since I last saw you. Are you sure you don't want to wait for the meal before we get to business?"

The chuckle of the younger figure signaled her amusement. "Please, I've been here before. Enrique's reputation is based upon his belief in quality above speed…so we have some time before our orders arrive."

"I suppose you're right. I suppose you want to know how the research is going, do you?"

"Please go on…I'd like to see how the ninja girl works."

"I don't spy on people like I used to…I have an image to keep after all. But I will tell you this; I could see the determination in her eyes…she most definitely wants to get this job done."

"How good is her accomplice?"

"Rather good, but even he has limits. The task of making his cousin's side job as cupid on this case easier would be very difficult no doubt. You said he was in spec ops right?"

"Not anymore…he was promoted."

"Yes, he will most definitely have a challenge on his hands. But either way, the game is afoot."

"It seems we are right on schedule then; and just in time too…" As if on cue, the waiter arrived with a tray carrying their orders: a lamb basted in jalapeño juice with a side of oyster mushroom, a peppered chicken breast barbecued and marinated in authentic vanilla sauce from Costa del Sol with a small salad, and two glasses of Monsieur Garnier 2003 Chardonnay.

The older figure picked up her glass. "In order to bring us good luck, I toast to our endeavors."

The younger figure followed. "With this glass, I swear that the plan will come together. Cheers."

The two figures toasted. And with the meal, they sealed the deal…

* * *

_**A/N: Oh dear, a twist…I wonder who those two figures are. To those who have guessed the identity of those two women and what they are planning to do, I commend you on your observation. I wanted to base Grimoire and Hongfeng on two doctors in fiction that I rather liked. This version of Grimoire was based on Dr. Hazama Kuroo, who would otherwise be known as Dr. Black Jack with a bit of Mordin Solus, while Hongfeng was based on Huang Fei Hong.**_

* * *

_**Songs Used:**_

"_**Nine-tailed Demon Fox" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—scouting out Vincent.**_

"_**Morena De Mi Corazon" by Los Lobos from "Desperado"—meeting in "Enrique's Del Solian Bar and Grill"**_

* * *

_**Vocabulary and Culture Notes:**_

_**Wangzhou—a place in Wutai, it literally means "King Prefecture"**_

_**Saika Magoichi—the name of a prominent commander during Japan's Sengoku Basara era. Real name Saika Suzuki, and leader of the Saika Mercenary Group. He was well-known as the mercenary leader that equipped his entire regiment with rifles.**_

_**Li Xiaoyin—a Chinese name**_

_**Hongfeng Gongzhu—a title in Mandarin…it means "Red Phoenix Princess".**_

_**Chishan—another place in Wutai, its name means "Red Mountain"**_

_**Susanoo—the Shinto god of storms; also associated with war.**_

_**Tacos del pescados con arroz—Spanish for "Fish tacos with rice".**_


	3. Appointment

_**A/N: As of this moment, I am taking someone as a beta-reader to aid me in the writing of this story…so kudos to Ski October for her assistance. If anybody can guess as to what those two ladies were doing in the last part of the last chapter, you get a cookie with a coffee of your choice! But seriously, do read and review would you kindly?**_

* * *

Monday…

Yuffie knew that she had a long job ahead of her. But she also knew that this was the most challenging job she had ever taken given this was the first time in a while she had to go dark on a job. She only hoped that this would not turn personal…she was not ready for commitment, and what she saw Reno do ultimately destroyed her faith in finding love for herself. She felt that the only thing she can do at the moment was to make sure that every girl she worked for or on never had to go through what she did…by getting them their happy endings. Well, she knew that sooner or later, she'd have to deal with the target, and so she had a plan for this job. She would move very slowly—there were pros and cons to moving very slowly, one of which was that she could gain more accurate information on how to help her client bag this target…the biggest con of all however was that she was risking attachment the longer she stayed with him, and it was hard to do that what with how much she liked the man already.

Her first step in moving slowly was to schedule an appointment with the good doctor. Once she established communications with him, she would go with the story that this was a maintenance checkup. She wasn't lying…she was just killing two birds with one stone; while she gave Western medicine a lot of credibility from a physical and scientific standpoint, she didn't want to have someone prescribe a drug to her that could get her addicted unless absolutely and unavoidably necessary…she believed in good old-fashioned Traditional Wutainese Medicine for all general ailments outside of things science could treat, hence her most plausible excuse would be asking for a recommendation before starting a maintenance run for her body's spiritual energies. That, and she would be getting more information out of him as to what he liked…which was why she found herself searching the internet for information on the mansion at 117 Hikaru St.

According to the data she saw on the screen, the clinic was named "Haoyuan Yiwushi", and as per Vincent's specialty, was a Traditional Wutainese Medicine clinic. Perhaps Vincent was brought up by his mother if he was that fluent in the Chishan dialect, although the fact that he spoke perfect basic proved otherwise. Needless to say, she was waiting for the phone to come off the hook on the other side—if she was lucky, she wouldn't have to go back there to get more information out of him in the subtlest manner possible.

"Hello?"

She never knew why that happened; Yuffie only knew that the voice of her target sent shivers up her spine enough to threaten the stability of her legs. It was as if hearing Vincent's voice turned her into mush whether through the phone or in person. "Um, hi; this is Yuffie Kisaragi from Kisaragi Imports, I'd like to book an appointment for a possible regular acupuncture therapy."

"You actually seemed healthy the last time I saw you. Is there anything wrong?"

"No, nothing wrong per se; I just wanted to get a checkup for safety's sake…you know, so I can start a recommended treatment regularly for maintenance?"

"I can understand that. Anyway, I'm booked up for this week, but next week, I have some openings on Monday and Wednesday for a checkup. Can you hold on until then?"

"I think I can. It's just an estimate for a maintenance run after all. How does Monday sound?"

"Monday is fine. Is two or three a good time for you?"

"No, I won't have as much time to get back to work. I was thinking more along the lines of 5 in the evening?"

"I think that is a very good idea. The sooner you get my recommendation for your treatment the better off you'll be until your next appointment. That way, I know how to treat you."

"I understand that. Well, thank-you, and see you at the appointment." With that said, Yuffie hung up her smart-phone, and went back to work. She had a few more orders to fill out before the day was over.

* * *

Meanwhile, at 117 Hikaru St…

Vincent put down his phone. Now he had a new patient walking in—and it was the young delivery girl Yuffie. He'd heard a lot about that family…if only in whispers. But all in all it seemed interesting that she'd come down here for a maintenance run at all…given the connections that her father had here in Little Wutai, coupled with the fact that he knew her father was partially the reason the South won the war of attrition against the North. Many people knew that the Wutainese Civil War started because politicians from North Wutai saw fit to take soldiers and invade the Southern city of Xianghe…the council of course was not happy about this, and so the kings of the Southern Kingdoms threatened war if the Northern Empire did not pull her troops out of Xianghe. This only resulted in five more cities being overrun by the Northern army, his homeland of Chishan in the Meihuo Province being included.

The death knell for the Civil War came when the Southern Council joined forces with rebels from the Northern Imperial Army and the later intervention of the World Regenesis Organization. During the initial stages of the war, the Southern Kingdoms had waged a war that continued with a stalemate against the North as they halted the advance of the latter at the valley city of Baixue in the Zhonghai province bordering Meihuo before they slowly advanced to the North and systematically began taking back all lands that were taken in the initial stage of the conflict. It was somewhere in the push back that the Southern Kingdoms realized that the war was progressing much too slowly—both sides were too evenly matched on all counts to the point that the kings worried that they'd be paying a very hefty sum afterwards. That all changed when rebel factions from North Wutai began hassling their homeland from within—it wasn't long until the Northern Rebels and the Southern Kingdoms joined forces and began to turn the tides in the South's favor. It wasn't until later on in the war that the WRO was informed of the situation, and they intervened on behalf of the Southern Wutai Kingdoms. By the end of the war, after realizing that he was fighting three opponents at the same time the Emperor of the Northern Empire surrendered, was forced to pay reparations to those whose homes were destroyed in his mad quest for power, and stepped down from power as the Empress took power. Now that the war was over, the North had begun to work towards paying penance for their crimes under the watchful eye of the Empress, he had finally opened that practice…and his Uncle Yeh aided in that endeavor along with money he had earned in his time with the Wutainese special operations units, most notably his tenure with the 239th Rangers Battalion under Captain Saika. "Are you ready for your piano lesson?"

* * *

The following week, 5 PM…

Yuffie was a bit nervous…she found that aside from the random strolls he took, Dr. Valentine spent a bit of his time outside of treating patients to tend to his newly-ordered plants, playing the piano, practicing some Tai Chi, and maintaining what she assumed was a .45 ACP Quicksilver M1911-patterned semiautomatic pistol with a long slide and tactical rail…a standard-issue sidearm in the Southern Wutainese Army Special Forces branches as an offensive pistol. She really needed to be careful…one wrong word or move, and she'll probably end up bullet-ridden if Valentine was a trigger-happy person. But then again, he could be doing it as a force of habit—according to Tseng, after the war, some soldiers retain the habits they gained from the war (periodic exercise and constant weapon maintenance being prime examples).

As she looked around, she couldn't help but notice that the flowers were growing beautifully at the moment…and she also noted some bonsai growing on a shelf near the black pine, as well as a mulberry bush that was newly added to the yard. She headed towards the main building drinking in the scenery with her eyes. Perhaps if he didn't take up medicine, Valentine should have been a landscaping designer.

"I see you appreciate my handiwork," said a voice in front of her. Yuffie yelped upon hearing the speaker, and found herself looking at the very man she was looking for.

"Yeah, you really should consider work for landscaping."

"Very well Ms. Kisaragi, come on in, and we'll start with your checkup promptly."

She followed Vincent around until she found herself sitting in a room covered in drawers and shelves containing dried goods…no doubt that those drawers carried the medicines that Traditional Wutainese doctors used to treat their patients, while the shelves carried the dried goods that are also found. It was there that she was settled down upon a stool while he sat behind a counter near the back of the store. "If you'll excuse me Ms. Kisaragi, I'd like for you to hand me your wrist."

The procedure was simple…skin-to-skin contact was to a necessary part of Traditional Wutainese Medicine, as the doctors usually required the knowledge of the pulse to determine the symptoms. The wrist was normally enough to tell a doctor what is wrong. Yuffie gave Vincent her right hand, before he gently used his right hand to pull it back, and allowing his left index and middle fingers to feel for a pulse. The touch felt like the wind was sweeping something across, and it quickened her heart rate. It was there that she studied in detail his left arm: it was covered in a complex array of tattoos on the back of his forearm, most notable of the tattoos being chains going around his wrist and intersecting at a circle over where it would be a good spot to cut for suicide and another set of chains going down the middle of his forearm before it disappeared into his sleeve. Before she could study further into the designs of the tattoos, the good doctor gently put her hand down. "You a very good pulse—very healthy; are you active per chance?"

"Uh yeah, I do quite a few sports."

"You do?"

"I practice shurikenjutsu in my spare time, and mixed martial arts."

"Interesting…most women I've ever met only want the men to do the fighting for them. It's good to see another person that takes the martial arts as seriously as you do."

"So, do you practice any martial arts?"

"I practice Yeh-style Tai Chi, as well as Wufeng."

"Who taught you?"

"My mother…and let me tell you, she was no pushover at all; I've seen her take out opponents at least double her size in defense of her patients."

"Wait a minute…you said 'was'…does that mean…"

The silence was awkward, but it was clear that he was still paying attention to her pulse.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…"

"No worries. You haven't offended me. By the way, you're fine. No problems thus far, just keep at it with your lifestyle, but you may wish to contact me the second symptoms occur. I don't think you're severe enough to warrant acupuncture…a regular acupressure treatment for your purposes should do fine for now."

"Thanks doc."

"Well, now that your checkup is done and over with, is there anything else you need?"

"Yeah, a couple things; can I have some shiitake and dried ginger?"

"They should be in the third aisle from your left, on the left side."

"Can you show me?"

"Sure thing, now if you'll just follow me…" Vincent got up and walked towards the third aisle with Yuffie following. The entire shelf on the left side was apparently dedicated to dried mushrooms of all sorts with labels to identify them from Southern Wutai lingzhi mushrooms intended for tea, all the way down to dried matsutake mushrooms from the North for cooking. Walking down the aisle, they eventually found what they were looking for…and Vincent handed her to a clear plastic container of dried shiitake mushrooms with tongs and a bag provided to pick them.

"The ginger will be in one of the containers right behind you."

Sure enough, as soon as Yuffie turned, she found the container of ginger behind her. She shrugged and started picking her groceries. As soon as she got what she needed, she met Vincent back at the counter. "That'll be 65 gil in total for the mushrooms and ginger. And I will see you next week for your next appointment."

"What about for the checkup?"

"I do checkups here for free."

"Wow! A lot of doctors I've heard of charge even for the checkups."

"My mother believed in helping people as best she could, hence the free checkup. I'm upholding her memory as best I can with this clinic."

As she turned to leave, Yuffie stole one more glance at her target. "Bye Doc."

Vincent turned to his patient and waved to her slightly. "Farewell, I'll see you at the next appointment."

* * *

Five minutes later…

Oh she could not believe it! Phase one of 'moving slowly' was going well! Now that she had a regular appointment with Doctor Valentine, she knew that getting more information out of him would be significantly easier! Now that she got the shiitake and the ginger that was on her shopping list from Dad, Yuffie could celebrate now that she had essentially killed two birds with one stone on this one trip…on second thought, she made it three birds with one stone for today.

Although her mood was kind of getting killed by the fact that there was the danger of getting too attached—and this was the kind of risk that came with the 'moving slowly' mindset. If she screwed over a client, it would be a bad reputation for her, and then nobody would come to her for advice. But enough about that! In fact, to hell with the danger of falling in love…no way she was going to let some pretty-boy doctor win her heart over! This was a time to celebrate phase one's commencement and she knew just what to do in a time like this…and it was off to "The Seventh Heaven"! Yep…she was not going to go through what she did with Reno…never again! She'll never EVER fall in love again…right?

* * *

_**A/N: The way I see it, in Wutai, they predominantly speak Japanese, but there are also others that speak Mandarin or even Korean as well (I'm a little more familiar with the former through a background in Cantonese).**_

* * *

_**Songs Used:**_

"_**Afternoon of Konoha" by Toshiro Masuda from "Naruto"—Yuffie making an appointment.**_

"_**Fisherman's Song of the East China Sea" from "Kung Fu Hustle"—Vincent's checkup, and shopping.**_

"_**Piano Black" by Yoko Kanno and the Seatbelts from "Cowboy Bebop"—Yuffie's celebration.**_

* * *

_**Vocabulary and Culture Notes:**_

_**Haoyuan Yiwushi—Vincent's clinic, literally means "Good Karma Clinic"**_

_**Xianghe—Mandarin for "Fragrant River".**_

_**Meihuo—Mandarin for "Beautiful Fire".**_

_**Shurikenjutsu—the Japanese art of throwing stars and spikes.**_

_**Yeh—a common Chinese surname, meaning "Leaf"**_

_**Tai Chi—Mandarin for "Extreme Boundlessness", short for Tai Chi Chuan (Extreme Boundless Fist), a rather well-known martial art for its emphasis on slow and circular movements.**_

_**Wufeng—Mandarin for "Phoenix Dance", a made-up style of dance-fighting.**_


	4. Phase Two: Initiated!

_**A/N: A warning to all readers, there will be more Mandarin spoken ahead in the chapter, and I won't give any tone marks (I'm writing entirely in English, so I don't have the fonts for pinyin). Please note that my Mandarin is not so good, and that I am still learning—and if you can understand the dialogue, then that's good; Aces to you! And the identity of the first woman in Chapter 2 will be revealed. So do please read and review would you kindly?**_

_**And to Ski October, I'm sorry I couldn't wait to submit this chapter. I hope you can forgive me.**_

* * *

Sunday…

It's been almost a week since Yuffie last walked on down to the "Haoyuan Yiwushi" for her anything other than work in her case. The rest of her week was so-so…several orders were filled in for the order of more imports of such things as Galian Beast Inc.'s Cerberus X666 laptops and Muse Touch 320GB MP3 players, orders of dried goods to go to specialty stores and Traditional Wutainese doctors, and even high-quality goods such as handmade folded steel katana by such geniuses as Okazaki Masamune and Sengo Muramasa for collectors and martial artists studying kendo or iaido. She had come to the hotel room to see Elmyra for the week…to check up on Aeris and Zack.

"So how are things with you so far?"

"Things are going well dear, but you may want to come on over; they just came back from a movie."

"Oh yeah, let's see what they're up to!"

With that, the two of them brought the pair of binoculars out to watch from across the window. They watched as Zack walked towards the kitchen…he had a sort of tired look in his face that was somehow alleviated by the fact that Aeris was here.

As if understanding the silent question Yuffie was about to ask, Elmyra cleared her throat. "The poor boy has had it hard at work, what with his boss making moves on him, of all people!"

Yuffie turned to look Elmyra square in the face with wide eyes. "No way! You've got to be joking!"

The deadpan look on her friend's face was clear. She was definitely not joking. "If it were me, I could understand a woman doing such a thing, and it wouldn't be such a problem! But considering that that bit of sexual harassment is coming from a man then I don't blame him—it's really an awkward situation from what I hear. I mean really, that Shin-Ra boy has got to know that 'no' means 'no'! Although I will have to admit…I do admire his persistence…but sometimes he just won't take 'no' for an answer…I mean, rumor has it he's never like that with any of the man-whores he hangs around with!"

"Wait a minute, you're telling me Rufus Shin-Ra is gay?"

"That's the word on the street…it looks like we'll be having a bit of a complication on this trip of love you're making for them…"

As Yuffie looked on into her binoculars at the fact that both Aeris and Zack in the latter's apartment, she found a sight she'd never see in her time as a matchmaker. Through the other side of the vision-amplifying lenses, she spotted Aeris and Zack fighting…after a few more minutes, it appeared that Aeris won the argument as Zack was standing around with a bemused look on his face before she left as if he were pondering something. "I have an idea…find a job for Zack. Something he may like better—that way we'll have a happy couple in the long run."

"But how are we going to implement that dear?"

"That's where you come in…find a job that Zack would very likely enjoy, and be subtle when you bring Aeris the suggestion…no wait, scratch that; you may want to pass the job offer on to Zack directly. It looks like he's not going to be seeing Aeris for a while, so you will have to slip it to him quietly so that he thinks that it's his idea…just work that silver tongue of yours, and we have it made. I'll talk to you later…judging by the way Aeris stormed out, it's likely she'll be here shortly; I don't want her to see me…otherwise, the whole operation is compromised."

It was there that Yuffie stormed out leaving Elmyra behind. "Very well then dear, be safe!"

* * *

Monday…

This was it! Today was the day she would begin Phase Two of moving slowly…where she would get more information from the target bit by bit. It was also today that she would be getting actual treatments from Vincent's regular and prescribed acupressure therapy sessions…she would be using this time to bond with him as he stimulated her meridians. Come to think of it, she didn't know how acupuncture was like, and thus she didn't understand how it should feel when her acupressure points were pressed. But perhaps it would be her first time to see what it was like. And because of the license she noted that Vincent had hung on the wall behind the counter, she knew that he had taken the certification tests as required by law…what was also interesting was that he also had a license for western medicine…that was odd…why would he have that license as well?

Vincent was busy at the counter typing away at his Cerberus X666—apparently a patient's name and appointment date. "You're just in time for your appointment."

"I make it a point to get to places on time."

"That's a very good point to make. Now if you'll just follow me, we can get this started."

"Do I have to pay you before we start?"

"No need. I always bill my patients after treatment."

Yuffie followed Vincent to the room in the back when she heard the phone ringing. He let out a sigh of annoyance. "Excuse me for a moment while I take this call. And don't worry; just because I charge by the hour does not mean that I'll charge while you wait for me."

"I'll just hang on then…"

She watched as Vincent walked towards the counter, silencing the ringing of the phone by taking it off the hook. "Hello? Ah! Huang Xiansheng, ni hao! Shenme? Ni shuo shenme? Qi-qing shuo huan yi dian hao bu hao? Uh-huh…uh-huh…hao ah, wo yihou zhunbei ni de chufang gei ni. Hen hao, wo mingtian gei ni. Zaijian!"

It was there that Yuffie was watching him the whole time, and was listening in on the phone conversation. Oh she knew what he said. "I'm next?"

"That's the plan."

"Who was that on the phone?"

"That was another of my patients."

"Shouldn't you be getting his prescription ready?"

Vincent turned to faces his current patient with astonishment clear in his eyes. "I'm surprised…ni dong wo shuo shenme?"

"Wo dong le. Wo de gongzuo you hen duo zhugu shuo zhongwen ye hen duo ren shuo riwen."

"Very good, you speak my native tongue very well. As to Mr. Huang, I have until tomorrow to prepare his prescription; in that time, I have an appointment to keep with you."

The back room behind the counter was simple…there was a massage table with a hole for the face to go through, in addition to a biohazard disposal bin near the door. As she continued to observe the room, she also saw a shelf above a counter containing boxes of various things, such as disposable acupuncture needles, mugwort sticks for moxybustion, a couple bottles of rubbing alcohol for sterilizing reusable acupuncture needles, and even metal trays. "Please settle down on the table while I find the proper meridians."

At the mention of 'meridians', Yuffie also noted another thing in the room; posters on the wall containing the various meridian points. It was of course natural to be seeing such posters—Traditional Wutainese doctors are only human after all…some may need the poster as a guideline to finding the right spot to insert the needle. As she made herself comfortable, she noted Vincent putting down a book, and walking towards her."So how long have you been practicing?"

It was there that he began to inspect her wrist. "Since about five years after the war; believe it or not a few days after the Civil War ended, her majesty Empress Oda took to the throne, she came to me in person in a limousine to offer a position in her imperial guard despite the fact that I am a Southerner. I politely refused and said that I wished to pursue the art of medicine…to repent for all lives I had taken in the war, and to honor someone I loved. To my surprise, she asked if I was doing it for my mother."

"What did you say?"

"I said that I was surprised that the Empress knew my mother—and to that, she replied that my mother had once personally come to treat her. She also said that during that time, the two of them befriended each other…and so she did not find it a surprise that the both of us refused to join the Imperial Court. And so after that day, I continued my education in both thoughts of medicine and decided to open my own practice after graduating. My Uncle Yeh used to own this mansion."

Yuffie then searched her mind…Yeh…Yeh…lots of people in Southern Wutai had the same surname…there could be a Yeh Daxing as well a Yeh Zhang, some of whom could also have been moved to other places. "Is Uncle Yeh somebody I know?"

"He goes by the name given to him while in the dojo…I believe he is known as Yeh Wen."

"Wait a minute, Yeh Wen? As in 'Wufeng de Yeh Wen'?"

"That would be him."

Oh everybody knew about Wufeng de Yeh Wen…of all the students in the Wufeng School of martial arts, only two names came to mind; Wufeng de Yeh Wen and Hongfeng Gongzhu. Both were of the opposite gender, but were also of equivalent skill and strength…well, strength in the case of the latter at the very least. "That's a very famous relative."

"Our relation would be based on a close bond rather than by blood …he was so close in fact, that he's actually family—a custom shared in many schools of martial arts where all your colleagues are the same as your brothers and sisters…ah! Here we are!" No sooner than he said that until Vincent pressed a point on her wrist before moving on up to a point on her shoulder and finally pressing two points on her neck. "Now we let you sit for a moment while I gather the ingredients together for Mr. Huang's medicine. And if you're feeling drowsy, don't worry, it's part of the treatment—in fact, it should be taking effect right about…" Before asking him why he avoided the question, Yuffie found herself dozing off before she flat-out fell asleep.

* * *

_Yuffie looked around…something about the place seemed familiar to her, she just couldn't put her finger on it…and then she saw a very familiar sight…this was the house that her family had moved into a couple years before her mother was diagnosed with and claimed by the Geostigma. This was one of her happy moments…a moment when her mother had announced a very happy piece of news at the time. This also happened to have been the day of her mother's birthday—it was then that she saw herself in joy that she would be having a little sister; everybody was happy…and then, the scene started to black out and fade away…_

* * *

"Oh good, you're awake. I was worried that I may have pressed a few wrong points."

Yuffie looked around groggily at her surroundings while feeling something strange…before she turned her attention to Vincent scribbling down on a pad. "How long was I out?"

"I'd say for almost four hours now…usually I let you sit longer, but seeing as this is a maintenance run, it's a bit lighter. How are you feeling?"

"I feel weird…I feel like electricity is riding on a cold current through my veins…and to be honest, that's the good kind of weird…"

"That's good. It should be feeling like that."

"Really?"

"Yep, it should be like that. You're healthy, as all descendants of the Kisaragi Shinobi clan should be." Yuffie looked to Vincent with surprise in her eyes. "Don't look so surprised. I'm a veteran of the war, even I've heard of the Kisaragi clan financing the cause of the South…that and several of your kinsmen were among the rebel forces. All I'm curious about is why the second-in-line to the clan head moved here to Nibelheim."

"Dad wanted a better future for us…meaning me, mom, and him. At first, things were hard…and looking for work was difficult, but the two of them managed to pull through. And that's also why I work for him…because I want to return the favor to him and mom. When the war broke out, he knew that Empress Oda never supported the war; due to the Kisaragi's loyalty to the Empress, my clan took part in the war with the rebels. After we finally started the company, Dad started sending some money the second the war started to finance the cause of the South to help put her in power. Unfortunately, my mom didn't survive to hear about the end of the war. She contracted Geostigma, and died…even today, I still miss her."

"I feel the same way…although my mother died a while after my home in Chishan was invaded."

Yuffie had heard about the atrocities committed in places like Chishan and Xianghe…she'd heard rumors that some Northern soldiers were so barbaric that it was not unheard of that rapes were present among the offenses that were committed. After the Civil War ended, all soldiers that took part in such acts were found and executed the second that Empress Oda took power. She also heard that Hongfeng Gongzhu and the 12 Falcons were responsible for destroying the invasion force of nearly 2 million soldiers stationed in the entire Meihuo Province before they succumbed to their wounds and bled to death standing up and glaring in hatred at the surviving soldiers and causing them to run in terror. She then realized that he must have been there to he see his mother die…something she sympathized with as she herself was forced to watch her mother die a slow and painful death.

"I'm sorry…for what the Northern Empire did…"

"Don't be. You were never there, and your family never supported Emperor Akechi, and so I have no quarrel with you. Well, your session is over for today…and I'll be seeing you in about a week. Today's session was for four hours, and I charge fifty gil per hour for treatments…so the bill comes out to 230 gil plus tax."

Yuffie knew she saw it…the sort-of despondent look before his expression brightened somewhat slightly. But she also knew that keeping a doctor of any sort waiting for the copayment or bill was rude, and so she started fishing through her purse before she found two 100-gil notes, five 5-gil coins, and a 1-gil coin. She then smiled brightly. "Here's your money, and I'll be seeing you in a week. Zaijian!"

"Zaijian!"

As she walked into the streets back to her car with that surge of energy coursing through her veins, Yuffie found another reason to continue on with this job…she'll get to know him, and possibly heal the hurt in his heart before he meets up with Lucrecia as a bit of a side project…the first thing however, was to get to the underlying cause of his hurt before moving any further. This would be a difficult task without getting too involved…if what he revealed was any indication then she getting closer and closer to doing the very thing she swore never to do again since Reno. No! Never again! She'd rather die than to risk going through that heartbreak ever again!

* * *

Across the street from 117 Hikaru St…

The older woman watched as Yuffie walked out of the mansion and into her car with a confused look upon her face. Oh she knew what that confused look was about…and according to her colleague, the real job was going to actually kill two birds with one stone. She never did approve of what that woman did…but she did however appreciate the fact that she was trying to make amends for what she did to the good doctor. There was another bird that this job was killing, and that was getting the thrill of spying back in her system…there was the chance that she could be caught, and even with careful precautions to ensure her identity was safer than before, there was still a chance she could be caught—the adrenaline rush seemed to satisfy a craving as she watched Yuffie drive away.

She only hoped that the poor dear broke soon and decided to keep Valentine to herself. Her partner's knowledge of him was rather thorough…239th Rangers Battalion, then the whispered 501st unit in the whole two years of the Civil War? If what she heard from her colleague was correct, then chances of Tseng getting the dossiers for his cousin were pretty much .001 to a million.

Ah, but who cares? In fact, the whole point was that Yuffie would have to do this on her own. Kisaragi Tseng was never meant to get the dossiers anyway…ah, and speak of the devil…

"You knew all along that I wouldn't get those files."

"Of course I knew…and of course, **SHE** knew. After all, she knows him longer than you."

The bewilderment Tseng's mind was betrayed by his next set of questions…"What's the point in all of this anyway? Getting her to get the attention of a former black operator? What are the two of you trying to do?"

"You've worked with your cousin, and you still can't see a job when it hits you in the face."

"Why him? Surely you know that his position in black ops entailed?"

"He's suffered enough in his life, as has she…you and I both know what Reno did, and we both know that she needs someone to make her find faith in love again…and what better way to do it than to deliberately make a matchmaking job difficult? Don't worry, my partner knew him while he was in black ops…your cousin is in good hands."

"I will trust you for now; but if things go south, I'm putting him out of his misery…understood?"

"Clearly…although I doubt you should be worrying about the good doctor…as a matter of fact, shouldn't you be running home with those groceries in your arms?"

As if he had just realized something, she heard Tseng run off with the grocery bags. He was not going to let Elena tie him up to the bed and torture him! It was then that she also remembered something…ah yes! She had to buy more jasmine and lavender food for the plants at the motel, and to manipulate Zack into getting a new job!

* * *

_**A/N: Dun, dun, dun! If you haven't guessed as to the identity of the older woman by now, then I say that it's always the one you least expect. But all in all, I hope I did well with this story…**_

* * *

_**Songs Used:**_

"_**The Prime Time of your Life" by Daft Punk from "Human After All"—Aeris and Zack's fight**_

"_**Make Love" by Daft Punk from "Human After All"—Yuffie thinking to herself after the therapy**_

"_**The Pink Panther Theme" by Henry Mancini from "The Pink Panther"—The older woman gets caught by Tseng**_

* * *

_**Vocabulary and Culture Notes:**_

_**Sino-Japanese Surnames—in China and Japan (and several other places), the surname come first in a name (i.e. Date Masamune's surname is Date, while Uzumaki Naruto is obvious).**_

_**Okazaki Masamune, Sengo Muramasa—master swordsmiths in Japan, their names are used in various fantasy games for katana, such as Sephiroth's nodachi, and one of Cloud's swords (it is mistakenly spelled 'Murasame'). Masamune's swords were said to be possessed by good spirits that never cut flesh as it passed through the blades harmlessly while Muramasa's swords were said to be bloodthirsty demonic blades that cut anything in their path for even the taste of blood.**_

_**Kendo, iaido—Japanese styles of swordsmanship. Iaido is the art of drawing the sword, striking the opponent down in that draw, flipping off the blood, and then sheathing it…kendo is the art of fighting with the sword after it's been drawn (most likely in the event that iaido techniques have failed to kill the opponent in the first stroke).**_

_**Meridian—a point on the body where an acupuncture needle would be inserted.**_

_**Yeh Wen—I stylized him differently, but his name is still a reference. Yeh Wen was a Chinese kung-fu master that specialized in the Wing-Chun style. He was Li Xiaolong's teacher from Foshan, and Li Xiaolong would later be known as Bruce Lee.**_


	5. IMPORTANT!

**Greetings to the fine folk that moderate our site.**

**Myself, along with many, have been writing and posting on your fine site for years now, some of the better examples of up and coming writers out there are now suddenly finding some of the stories we've come to love at risk of being removed without the chance to even rectify our errors.**

**For some, that means the permanent loss of a story. While I don't have anything that I believe violates your terms of use, there are those out there that are never able to recover a story in its original form, this is something I find to be almost worthy of a legal action, as while we cannot claim ownership of a character, the stories are OURS and simply destroying them is something that is inexcusable.**

**It's quite easy to simply add an MA rating, additional filters or even a simple requirement for a free membership to read the stories presented here, and would cut down on hateful anonymous reviews and posts at the same time, so I have to question as to why such a thing, in all this time, simply wasn't added.**

**If you're worried about falsification of a registration then have an appropriate disclaimer and then there can be no dispute, you took your steps and the PARENTS didn't monitor their children, if that is even your concern. If it is more of a personal view or desire then please at least let people know and give them a chance to remove a story that you and yours find offensive, most people on the site are actually rather cordial when it comes to such requests.**

**While I cannot say for sure if this letter will even reach those that may be willing to listen, of if it's more akin to a wide spectrum purge in preparation for something bigger, please understand that you are going to be looseing a LARGE number of your writers, and thus your income from a lack of readers if there is not some level of action taken to help with this situation.**

**For those that may agree with this, please feel free to sign on and send this to the support server, maybe we can get some movement on this.**

**Psudocode_Samurai**

**Rocketman1728**

**dracohalo117**

**VFSNAKE**

**Agato the Venom Host**

**Jay Frost**

**SamCrow**

**Blood Brandy**

**Dusk666**

**Hisea Ori**

**The Dark Graven**

**BlackRevenant**

**Lord Orion Salazar Black**

**Sakusha Saelbu**

**Horocrux**

**socras01**

**Kumo no Makoto**

**Biskoff**

**Korraganitar the NightShadow**

**NightInk**

**Lazruth**

**ragnrock kyuubi**

**SpiritWriterXXX**

**Ace6151**

**FleeingReality**

**Harufu**

**Exiled crow**

**Slifer1988**

**Dee Laynter**

**Angeldoctor**

**Final Black Getsuga**

**ZamielRaizunto**

**Fenris187**

**blood enraged**

**arashiXnoXkami**

**Masane Amaha's King**

**Blueexorist**

**Nero Angelo Sparda**

**Uzunaru999**

**ZariGS**

**Legionary Prime**

Kurogane7


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